TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Thursday (Feb. 5) urged opposition parties to stop delaying budget reviews, accusing them of prioritizing cross-strait cooperation over national interests. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Changhua to discuss U.S. tariff impacts with textile industry representatives. The president called for the swift passage of the central government's general budget and a special defense budget stalled in the Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's parliament.
The remarks came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) spoke by phone a day earlier. During the call, Xi urged Trump to handle Taiwan arms sales carefully. Lai said Taiwan closely monitors U.S.-China interactions and maintains strong communication channels with Washington. The phone call drew significant attention in Taipei amid ongoing tensions over U.S. military support for the island.
Lai stated that the Trump-Xi dialogue preserves four constants in U.S.-China-Taiwan trilateral relations. However, Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), Taiwan's main opposition party leader, defended the 1992 Consensus on Wednesday. She asserted the framework, which acknowledges both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, is not as threatening as critics portray it.
Lai responded by noting that Xi has repeatedly clarified the "one China" principle. He stated Taiwan's proposal aligns with the "one country, two systems" framework, leaving no room for the Republic of China's expression. The president suggested that those who readily accept the 1992 Consensus without fear effectively demonstrate their Chinese identity and actively promote cross-strait unification.